Biofortified yellow cassava has been developed to alleviate vitamin A deficiency. We examined the potential contribution of yellow cassava to total retinol activity equivalent (RAE) intake if replacing white by yellow cassava among pre-school Nigerian children. Dietary intake was assessed as part of a randomised controlled trial. Pre-schoolchildren (n 176) were randomly assigned to receive either white cassava (WC) or yellow cassava (YC) for 17 weeks. Dietary intake assessments were conducted during the intervention and 1 month after, when children had resumed their habitual diet. Differences in RAE intake between groups and time points were compared using a linear mixed model regression analysis. During intervention, median RAE intake was 536 ?g/d in the YC group and 301 ?g/d in the WC group (P less then 0?0001). YC contributed approximately 40 % to total RAE intake. Of the children, 9 % in the YC group and 29 % in the WC group had RAE intake below the Estimated Average Requirement. After intervention, median RAE intake was 300 ?g/d and did not differ between intervention groups (P = 0?5). The interaction effect of group and time showed a 37 % decrease in RAE intake in the YC group after the intervention (Exp(β) = 0?63; 95 % CI 0?56, 0?72). If WC was replaced by YC after intervention, the potential contribution of YC to total RAE intake was estimated to be approximately 32 %. YC increased total RAE intake and showed a substantially lower inadequacy of intake. It is therefore recommended as a good source of provitamin A in cassava-consuming regions.To identify dietary patterns associated with subclinical atherosclerosis measured as coronary artery calcification (CAC).
Cross-sectional analysis of data from the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health. Dietary data were assessed using a FFQ, and a principal component factor analysis was used to derive the dietary patterns. Scree plot, eigenvalues &gt; 1 and interpretability were considered to retain the factors. CAC was measured using a computed tomography scanner and an electrocardiography-gated prospective Ca score examination and was categorised into three groups based on the CAC score 0, 1-100 and &gt;100 Agatston units. Multinomial regression models were conducted for dietary patterns and CAC severity categories.
Brazil, São Paulo, 2008-2010.
Active and retired civil servants who lived in São Paulo and underwent a CAC exam were included (n 4025).
Around 10 % of participants (294 men, 97 women) had a detectable CAC (&gt;0), 6?5 % (182 men, 73 women) had a CAC of 1-100 and 3?5 % (110 men, 23 women) had a CAC &gt; 100. Three dietary patterns were identified convenience food, which was positively associated with atherosclerotic calcification; plant-based and dairy food, which showed no association with CAC; and the traditional Brazilian food pattern (rice, legumes and meats), which was inversely associated with atherosclerotic calcification.
Our results showed that a dietary pattern consisting of traditional Brazilian foods could be important to reducing the risk of atherosclerotic calcification and prevent future cardiovascular events, whereas a convenience dietary pattern was positively associated with this outcome.
Our results showed that a dietary pattern consisting of traditional Brazilian foods could be important to reducing the risk of atherosclerotic calcification and prevent future cardiovascular events, whereas a convenience dietary pattern was positively associated with this outcome.Previous studies suggested that a disturbance of the dopamine system underlies the pathophysiology of bipolar disorder (BD). In addition, the therapeutic action of medications for treating BD, such as valproate (VPA), might modulate dopamine system activity, but it remains unclear. Here, we aimed to investigate the role of the striatal dopamine transporter (DAT) in BD patients and in social defeat (SD) mice treated with VPA.
We enrolled community-dwelling controls (N=18) and BD patients (N=23) who were treated with VPA in a euthymic stage. The striatal DAT availabilities were approached by TRODAT-1 single photon emission computed tomography. We also established a chronic SD mouse model and treated mice with 350mg/kg VPA for 3weeks. Behavioral tests were administered, and striatal DAT expression levels were determined.
In humans, the level of striatal DAT availability was significantly higher in euthymic BD patients (1.52±0.17 and 1.37±0.23, p=0.015). Moreover, the level of striatal DAT availability was also negatively correlated with the VPA concentration in BD patients (r=-0.653, p=0.003). In SD mice, the expression of striatal DAT significantly increased (p&lt;0.001), and the SD effect on DAT expression was rescued by VPA treatment.
The striatal DAT might play a role in the pathophysiology of BD and in the therapeutic mechanism of VPA. https://www.selleckchem.com/products/eflornithine-hydrochloride-hydrate.html The homeostasis of DAT might represent a new therapeutic strategy for BD patients.
The striatal DAT might play a role in the pathophysiology of BD and in the therapeutic mechanism of VPA. The homeostasis of DAT might represent a new therapeutic strategy for BD patients.Cholinergic deficits are a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Lewy body dementia (LBD). The nucleus basalis of Meynert (NBM) provides the major source of cortical cholinergic input; studying its functional connectivity might, therefore, provide a tool for probing the cholinergic system and its degeneration in neurodegenerative diseases. Forty-six LBD patients, 29 AD patients, and 31 healthy age-matched controls underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). A seed-based analysis was applied with seeds in the left and right NBM to assess functional connectivity between the NBM and the rest of the brain. We found a shift from anticorrelation in controls to positive correlations in LBD between the right/left NBM and clusters in right/left occipital cortex. Our results indicate that there is an imbalance in functional connectivity between the NBM and primary visual areas in LBD, which provides new insights into alterations within a part of the corticopetal cholinergic system that go beyond structural changes.